Key events
66 min Bailey goes into the boxok for stepping on Caicedo’s foot. Another free kick to Chelsea.
65 min Palmer hits a skimmer, wide of Olsen’s left-hand post. The crowd are getting agitated and they’re right to be.
65 min And now Madueke charges forward and wins a free kick in the D.
63 min The goal was made by Gallagher, with his buzzy pressing. He slipped in Madueke, who found the precision Chelsea had been lacking and steered a low shot into the far corner with his left foot as if his name was Cole.
GOAL! Villa 2-1 Chelsea (Madueke 63)
Back in it!
62 min Gallagher tests Olsen with a chipped cross. He comes and gets it, bravely, but then …
61 min Cometh the hour, cometh the man? Not just yet, but Palmer is getting on the ball more.
59 min Chelsea corner, taken by Palmer, not to him, which might be more productive. He hits it long to the back post, where Thiago Silva’s header wins another corner. Gallagher takes this one, which leaves another Villa goalie in pain – Olsen drops the ball, not fully, and then winces as he feels his back, but he’s well enough to take a free kick.
58 min A glimmer from Palmer, who dances in from the right and shoots, only to find the nearest defender ready with the block.
57 min Villa break and Badiashile has to resort to the dark arts to stop Rogers. Craig Pawson is close by but can’t see anything wrong with it.
55 min After yet another sortie by Madueke down the right, the chance falls to Caicedo, whose long shot is accurate but easily held by Olsen.
53 min Madueke breaks free down the right, cuts in and shoots, wide of the far post. Chelsea have now had two-thirds of the shots (11-5) as well as nearly three-quarters of the ball (72-28).
51 min Diaby, who has yet to shine in his cameo role, brings down Badiashile on the Chelsea left, but Palmer’s free kick is easily cleared.
49 min Handbags! Luiz and Caicedo clash as Luiz grabs a fistful of Caicedo’s shirt. Out comes the yellow card, for both parties I think.
47 min The first shot of this half comes from the man whose own-goal kick-started the first, Marc Cucurella, and it’s not as telling as that one was. But then Chelsea get forward again and Madueke needs shepherding again as a mazy dribble takes him into the box.
46 min Madueke goes for a wander down the right. Villa send reinforcements and they shepherd the ball out for a goal kick.
Villa change their keeper
Another Villa sub: Robin Olsen is coming on. And not just to have a run-out before he’s needed in the European semi-final – Emi Martinez has injured a hamstring.
Villa are quite excited about their local boy.
Villa can’t go up or down the table tonight but as it stands, they are sailing into the Champions League. They are nine points clear of Spurs, who entertain Arsenal tomorrow. Spurs do have three games in hand, but they also have a tough run-in, involving all of the top three.
HALF-TIME! Villa 2-0 Chelsea
There’s time for Villa to set off on yet another counter, four on three, but again Diaby’s pass is a loose one. And that is that for this half. One team has had the possession; the other has scored the goals.
45+4 min Villa break and it looks promising until Diaby overhits his pass to Bailey on the right.
45+4 min Chelsea get into the box, but nothing comes of it.
45+3 min A stat box pops up to inform us that Villa are now the second most prolific PL team in the first half of their games this season, with 35 goals, one behind Arsenal.
45+1 min We’re into the first of six minutes of added time.
45 min Chelsea pass it around again in the Villa half. They must be wondering how on earth they’re two down.
42 min Villa were on the counter, though it didn’t look that dangerous – they had a four-on-six. When the ball came to Rogers in the inside-left channel, he swayed inside and hit a clinical shot, just inside the near post. That’s his third in successive home games, apparently.
GOAL!! Villa 2-0 Chelsea (Rogers 41)
Another one! Very well taken.
40 min Free kick to Chelsea on the left wing. Palmer crosses, not high enough, and there’s an infringement anyway.
38 min It’s end to end now. Gallagher has a shot, trying to curl it past Martinez from the D, but it doesn’t have enough whip on it.
37 min Chance for Villa! Watkins races away down the left and hits a sharp left-foot shot which Petrovic does well to beat away.
36 min “I know it’s the Grauniad and all,” says Joe Pearson. “but I am loving your alternate spellings: McGann and Diane in particular. Keep it up!” Ha. The spellcheck does seem to be a little over-zealous tonight. I’ve changed about six McGanns, sorry to miss that one. And Diaby may well turn into Diary before the night is done.
34 min Chelsea hit the woodwork! Cucurella got away down the left and chipped a cross into Jackson, whose header did everything right – except find the inside of the bottom of the post.
32 min McGinn’s cross is easily cleared.
31 min Bailey wins a free kick on the right wing. McGinn to take it.
29 min Jackson, who has looked sharp, almost sneaks through but is well policed by the Villa defence, who are looking organised.
28 min Palmer has his second shot, from the D, and it’s blocked. Blocking is such a vital skill these days.
“Yes I’m a Chelsea fan,” says Lee Madden, “but really, VAR has to be the ultimate version of turning a good idea into a dreadful ‘solution’. I’d far rather the odd error than turning football into a procedural drama where we wait for lines to be drawn and fractions to be measured.
“Oh and WTF are the Chelsea owners doing even thinking about selling Gallagher. He’s been so consistent and looks great with his blond hair.”
27 min Tielemans is up and walking now, while still looking disconsolate.